Pallas's Rosefinch

Carpodacus roseus

ID Keys: Males have a rosy-red body and breast, streaks on mantle,
with a white-tinged forehead and chin. Females tannish brown overall
with heavily streaked mantle, crown, and flanks.

Pallas's
Rosefinch is a small finch species native to eastern Asia. It is
normally found as a breeding bird in central and eastern Russia into
Mongolia. It was an unknown species in the Western Hemisphere until the
summer of 2015. A single bird was found on St. Paul Island in the
Pribolof Islands, in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. They have
also wandered on rare occasions to parts of Europe. However, they are
often kept as cage birds in parts of Europe and Asia, and the origin of
vagrants in Europe has not been confirmed to represent true wild vagrants.

Habitat: Found in boreal forests and boreal
shrubland.

Diet: Feeds heavily on seeds, but will also take
insects and small invertebrates during the summer breeding season.

Behavior: Typically forages on the ground, or low
in vegetation.

Nesting: Little study has been done

Song: The typical call is a very thin, weak high
whistle, monotonic and often repeated.

Migration: Some populations in Mongolia and far
southern Russia may be semi-permanent residents. However, most birds
that breed in Russia migrate for the winter. Overwintering birds are
found in Japan, North Korea, South Korea, eastern China, and Kamchatka
peninsula and neighboring extreme southeastern Russia.